Linky Luv for February

Last weeks Linky trips were so fun! We were honored to add our Valentine's project to FaveCrafts January Blog Hop. We were thrilled for the invite, and for actually getting a holiday project finished a month in advance!!!! See, I told you this Year of the Linky travel would work :)

We also visited A Prairie Sunrise Linky For the Love of...Color. Did you read Mom's Color Story? It is my favorite post ever..("until that time," as the song says).  Plus, there is a whole Pinterest Board to go with Mom's special story. A story she only told once before, this was hard for her to write, so she put a bit work into it. Thanks, Sharon on the Prairie, for inspiring Mom to finally write it all down :)

February starts this week. Do you know a Linky we should visit? Comment here to let us know!

A Prairie Sunrise has another exciting For the Love of... Linky coming up on Friday:  For the Love of...Books. This could be very interesting, hmmm... maybe this post deserves it own PinBoard too?

Just learned about The CSI Project:  Create Something Inspiring. This Linky is also a contest, with guest judges and demos! Can't wait to see what the Theme of the Week will be. I suspect something with organizing, but can't be sure until Linky opens on Thursday. And it's only open for 1 day, what a great challenge!

Not exactly a Linky, Kris Brattlie Garst invited us to join Hats Off Challenge. Post your hat photo in the FB group and it gets voted on. Very fun! Feels like a Linky, so I included it here. This sharing project doesn't close until Feb. 15, so maybe we can finish in time. [But Mom must finish writing her new pattern first, or else!]

Mom's Color Story

When I went to the cabbage patch to pick-up my beautiful new baby.....

Our entire little town was covered in snow.

But things didn't go well. We had to live there for an entire week. We were never allowed outside. Maybe the whole world was covered in snow. I didn't know.

When we finally got to go home...

...lilacs were blooming....

...and everywhere was purple!

Did you ever crave a color?

I could not get enough Purple.

Why only Purple? Why no need for sunshine and all the other early Spring colors?

Then I realized, of course! Purple is my precious baby's birthstone :)

Now while I like pumpkins and coffee and whatever color my latest quilt is....
I only love purple.

And my sweet baby growing strong and much too fast? Her favorite color is....

Blue

Happy Birthday, Alex  --Love, Mom

Need more purple? All these pictures -and more- are collected on our Pinterest Board.
Linky post to For the Love of...Color. Thanks for reading :)

Not just for cupcakes anymore

Mom and I went to WalMart for errands. Mom found a white springy cupcake holder. She said it was just what she had been looking for. I couldn't figure out why we would need a cupcake holder. Mom knows I do not like cupcakes.

When we finally get home, Mom put apples on the places where the cupcakes should be.  Here's what it looked like with the apples. (Don't know why it's sideways. Sorry.)

Mom says we'll change the apples to something that fits each new season. Easter eggs for Easter, tiny pumpkins in the Fall, pears for Christmas, etc. Can't wait to see it next month.

Lauren Bacall's PJs

Etsy is so fun. Along with shopping, and meeting sweet fans, there are also Teams and Treasury. Anyone can belong to an Etsy team; seller or shopper. Likewise, anyone can make a Treasury on Etsy.

An Etsy Treasury is a "member curated gallery" of Etsy features- like a personal shopper of fave finds. You create a 16 item group of Etsy items in the theme that your shopping for. For example, a Valentines treasury could be your favorite 16 Etsy things that are hearts, or red, or romantic, or just vintage valentine cards. See? Lots of variety, even among common ideas.

In creating my latest Treasury, I asked for help from one of my Teams, Vintage Sewing Pattern Sellers and Collectors. "Pretend I am Lauren Bacall, and I would like a PJ pattern form your Etsy shop. What do you have for me?"

Lauren Bacall's PJs is the Treasury I created with the Team's answers. It was so fun! This treasury includes vintage 1940s and 1950s pajama robe patters, and a few vintage costumes. I saw lots of vintage Hollywood boudoir pieces on Etsy too. And some Lauren Bacall art as well. It was so hard to pick just 16 pieces. But in the end I decided to feature as many patterns as possible. Hope you like shopping for Lauren Bacall's PJs.

Etsy Shops featured in this post:

• Faded Tattered Roses
• Smak Boutique
• French Blue Velvet
• Small Earth Vintage
• Terrasita
• I and Rummond Vintage
• Miss Betty's Attic
• Slo Crafty
• My Crochet Garden

Late January Linky Luv

So far, we have two Linkys to visit this week. Comment here if you have a new Linky you would like added to my Calendar.

See you there!

FaveCrafts.com invited us to join their January Blog Hop! (Isn't that nice?) This Linky is for Valentines Crafts. Tons of heart-y craft ideas here, just in time for February. Our Blue Valentine Bunting is #56.

Color! Friday's Linky at A Prairie Sunrise will be For the Love of....Color. I think there is an opportunity to play in the stash here. Well, where else would you go color hunting?
See you here 1/27.

Blue Valentine Bunting

This holiday bunting is so easy - no sewing or gluing, only two supplies:

• felt ornaments
• craft ribbon

By now you know my Valentine only loves blue. So when I found these blue felt hearts in the Christmas ornaments section, I had to get them.

Turns out there were 3 in the package, just enough for a sweet Valentines' Bunting.

Used the 1/4" blue craft ribbon to tie felt hearts together.

Added longer ties on the two open ends.  Wish all holiday decorating was this easy!





Button Cookies

Over the weekend, Mom decided to create cookies. These cookies weren't the average chocolate chip cookies. No, they were shaped like buttons.



Here's what they would have looked like without the chocolate chips. ;)

Mom added a few ingredients, like crushed peanuts and chocolate chips, but it still tasted awesome. Mom saw these cookies on Pinterest. Check them out, I bet you could make them too.

Here is how we made button cookies:

Squish the cookies before backing them.

We used lid from the milk jug.

Poke four holes in the cookie after it's squished.

We used bamboo shish kabob skewer.

Ta-Da!!!

Linky Luv Calendar

Our blog is getting more adventurous. We are going out into the wide world, visiting all the cool quilty and crafty blogs out there, and you can come too! Here is the plan.

I am declaring this New Year 2012, Year of the Linky!
We have met so many super FB and Twitter friends with amazing blogs, not to mention all of our new Pinterest friends too! We would love to feature everyone on Totally Tech Tuesdays. But how?

We are going to follow all the cool Linky parties!!! Each week we will post here a Linky Calendar of the coolest most exciting Linkys we are planning of visiting. By following our Linky posts, just think how many new blogs we will discover together by the end of the year :)

What is a Linky? Well, a blogger posts a cool query or theme, including a Linky tool that allows you to add your comment or post link on the same topic, in the same place. So everyone who visits can get the whole scoop in one place. Often there are prizes involved!!!

If you know of a super Linky coming up, let us know. We want to add your Linky to our Calendar too. Some Linkys are one-time events, some repeat weekly. Here is the latest Linky news to get us all started:

Robin at T-Shirt Diaries is bring out the first annual.....soon:

Someday Crafts hosts a Thursday Linky of blogs just giving away stuff!

SewCalGal also hosts a Linky that is a giveaway directory. But it is a Tab/Page instead of a badge. It's called, Current List of Giveaways & Contests. [no pic, sorry]

Sharon at A Prairie Sunrise has a fun Friday Linky with a new surprise theme each week:

Tasha at Creation Corner has an open Friday Linky. Any creation welcome, even recipes!

Megan (she is so cool!) at Brassy Apple also has an open creative Linky for sewing/craft:

Aquariann and her dragon host Treasury Tuesday, a Linky of Etsy Treasury.